France has entered a day of exceptionally hot weather, with more than half the country under a red heat alert and tens of thousands of homes left without power in western Brittany.
A major wildfire in the Maine‑et‑Loire region was brought under control overnight, but the heatwave continues to threaten the nation’s grid and green spaces.
The country logged its hottest June day ever on Tuesday, with an average temperature of 29.8 °C (85.5 °F) measured across the country.
Heat alerts are spreading across Western Europe: the Netherlands has issued an orange alert for dangerous weather, expecting 37 °C that weekend, while Germany is poised to hit 40 °C over the weekend.
Eastern Europe also faces severe heat warnings this week, with Poland, Croatia and Hungary already on a high‑risk list.
Life in Paris has been altered: the Louvre has reduced its closing time from 18:00 to 16:00 on Wednesday and Saturday, citing the building’s vulnerability to heat and the crowd‑induced temperature rise.
Tragic heat‑related incidents have also marked the week: a 13‑year‑old girl drowned in the Seine, and there have been several other drownings reported in Germany.
Copernicus climate data links these extreme temperatures to a warming Europe that is heating up twice as fast as the global average, amplifying summer heatwaves, water scarcity and the intensity of wildfires.
With the mercury expected to drop slightly on Friday, a trough of thunderstorms is forecast to bring flash flooding and hail, offering a brief but foreboding reprieve from the heat.
